In December of 2021, the La Crescent Lions Club started exploring what is involved in getting a bandshell built in the city. Members of the club had expressed an interest in creating an outdoor/park venue for local musicians to display their talents. The greater purpose of a bandshell, though, is really to bring community together for an evening of enjoyment of the arts, relaxation, and enjoyment
of visiting with friends and neighbors. Knowing this is a big undertaking, the Lions asked Rotarians and other community members to be part of the planning team. What has been discovered, so far, is there is much more involved than just a bandshell structure – where best to locate this, cost to build, adequate parking, restrooms, fund raising, scheduling performances, covering costs of operation, maintenance, creating a web page for announcements/promotions, name of venue, etc. With all this in mind though, a bandshell brings enhancements to the city. Not only a place for the community to gather in a park for enjoyment of music or other entertainment (not a ‘bar scene’) but also for weddings, pictures with Santa, family reunions, incorporation of possible Farmers Market, starting and ending point for hiking one of our community parks, focal point of biking events hosted by our community, etc. Our thinking is this structure could be the center point of a theme the city can leverage to make us a destination point - As you may know, La Crescent is ranked in the top ten small cities in the United States! Steering Committee ~ Randy Rosenberg, Dean Bergstrom, Chris Fortsch, Patti Martell, Dave Ebner, Ron Wilke, Teresa O'Donnell-Ebner, Jeff Jewell, Monica Holman, Vanessa Machado, Jon Wilson
